Temporary Shelter

The pungent smell of disinfectant mixed with the acrid scent of some metal coolant violently invaded his nostrils, forcibly pulling Lin Xiao back from the brink of unconsciousness.

His eyelids felt as heavy as if they were welded shut. Every attempt to lift them was accompanied by a tearing headache and a hollow emptiness, like a black hole, caused by the stubborn [-0.159] deep within his soul. The wound on his right calf was temporarily subdued by the efficient inhibitor, its maddening burning and numbness lying dormant. However, the sharp pain from the rough debridement and the cold numbness from residual toxins still clearly reminded him of his desperate escape.

He struggled to open a slit.

What greeted his vision was a cold, monotonous, suffocating ceiling.

Pale white and utterly bare. The material seemed to be some kind of high-strength alloy, its smooth surface reflecting the equally pale and cold light cast by the embedded LED strips above. There were no windows, only a ventilation grate with a fine metal mesh on the side wall, emitting a continuous, low hum, as monotonous as a death knell.

The air was dry and constant, possessing a sterile, impersonal cleanliness characteristic of a laboratory. It ruthlessly suppressed the stench of sewage and blood clinging to him, pushing them beneath the surface of his skin, making them stand out even more.

Beneath him was a hard alloy bed frame, covered with a thin layer of equally cold medical gel padding. A thin, grayish-white blanket lay over him, its rough texture chafing his skin.

This was a cage. A cage meticulously disguised as a hospital room.

Lin Xiao slowly turned his stiff neck, his vision sweeping across the room.

The room was small, about ten square meters. Besides the alloy hospital bed fixed to the floor beneath him, there was only a similarly cold metal table fixed to the wall. On the table sat a transparent water cup with half a glass of water and a metal tube labeled "Nutrient Paste."

The walls were the same pale white alloy, so smooth they reflected blurry figures. Lin Xiao's gaze lingered briefly on a few inconspicuous corners—the shadows of the ventilation grate, the underside of the metal table's edge, the tiny gaps in the ceiling light strips... there, extremely faint, almost imperceptible crimson light dots flickered, like the eyes of vipers lurking in the dark.

All-around, no-blind-spot surveillance. The work of the Special Operations Ninth Division.

Lin Xiao's heart sank. Qin Bing's so-called "temporary safe house" revealed its true nature—a high-level interrogation and observation room. Protecting a witness was a facade; observation and control were the core objectives.

He tried to mobilize a sliver of his consciousness, attempting to sense the azure light screen in his mind.

Buzz—!

A wave of intense dizziness and needle-like pain struck him violently! The words "Source Energy Points: -0.159" seemed to flash with mocking crimson in his consciousness! The light screen was dim, its core pulsing weakly like a candle in the wind, and the fine black cracks on its pale silver edges were clearly visible.

He had overdrawn too severely! Forcibly activating the preset traps, especially the "logic deadlock" of the last I-beam, had cost far more than anticipated. The Modifier was now like a candle in the wind; forget analyzing the environment or optimizing himself, even its most basic stable existence seemed precarious.

He laboriously lifted his uninjured left arm. The movement pulled at the ruptured wounds on his back and the severe poisoning in his right leg, causing him to gasp in pain. He picked up the metal cup from the table, the cold sensation transmitted through his palm. He took a small sip, the water sliding down his dry, burning throat, offering a meager comfort.

His gaze fell upon the "Nutrient Paste." Its dull gray metal casing bore no markings. He twisted off the cap, revealing a thick paste within, emitting a faint scent of synthetic grains. This was essential for maintaining physiological functions, and possibly a medium for monitoring physiological indicators.

Lin Xiao didn't hesitate. He squeezed out some and swallowed it with difficulty. The taste was bland, with an indescribable metallic powder sensation. His stomach churned slightly, his body instinctively craving energy replenishment. He attempted to guide this faint biological energy, trying to contact the light screen in his mind.

[Detecting faint biological energy intake... Attempting absorption... Absorption efficiency 0.0001%... Source Energy Points replenishment: 0 (negligible)]

[Warning! Core stability not restored! Forcibly absorbing external energy carries a risk of disintegration!]

The cold prompt rejected him with unquestionable finality.

Lin Xiao gave a wry smile. As expected, it was a drop in the bucket. Restoring Source Energy Points was not something this nutrient paste could achieve. What he needed were high-purity Energy Stones, or... the influence of events. And in this cold iron cage, both were impossibly out of reach.

Just then, the room's only heavy alloy door emitted a faint pneumatic hiss and slid silently to the side.

Qin Bing's figure appeared in the doorway.

She was still wearing that sharp black Special Operations uniform, the insignia on her epaulets gleaming coldly under the pale light. Her black ponytail was impeccably neat, and her cold, beautiful face showed no extraneous expression, as if covered by a layer of never-melting frost. Her gaze was as sharp as ever, like two precise searchlights, instantly locking onto Lin Xiao on the bed, taking in his every subtle reaction.

She held a thin electronic tablet in her hand, her fingertips occasionally swiping across it.

"Awake?" Qin Bing's voice was devoid of emotion, like a cold synthesized voice. She walked into the room, and the alloy door closed silently behind her, completely isolating all external sounds. The air in the room seemed to freeze instantly, the pressure increasing dramatically.

Lin Xiao pulled at the corner of his mouth, revealing a pale smile with his usual roguish charm, though this time it appeared somewhat forced due to his weakness and pain. "Thanks to Officer Qin... I managed to keep my life. Hiss... This place... is quite unique, isn't it?" He tried to lighten the mood with a jest, but his eyes instinctively flickered towards a surveillance blind spot in the corner of the wall.

Qin Bing ignored his attempt at humor. She stopped about a meter from the hospital bed, a distance that allowed for clear observation while maintaining a safe perimeter. She slightly raised the tablet in her hand, angling the screen towards Lin Xiao, but at an angle that prevented him from seeing its contents.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, her tone less like concern and more like a routine confirmation of the observed subject's physiological state.

"I'm okay... won't die." Lin Xiao took a breath, the numbness in his right leg stubbornly persisting despite the inhibitor. "It's just this leg... feels like it's not mine anymore." He deliberately displayed his worry about the toxin and his frustration with his body's lack of control.

"The nerve paralysis from 'Viper's Kiss' is temporary. The inhibitor can only temporarily freeze its activity, slowing its spread, but it cannot eliminate it," Qin Bing's voice remained cold, as if stating an autopsy report. "Its core toxin will gradually erode your nerves, eventually leading to permanent paralysis, or even brain death. Unless there's a special serum, or... a means far beyond the ordinary to forcibly break it down."

Her gaze was fixed on Lin Xiao's eyes, capturing the slightest pupil dilation and muscle tremor. The last sentence carried a clear probing intent.

Lin Xiao's heart tightened, but he promptly displayed a look of terror and despair: "Paralyzed? Paralysis? Officer Qin! Your Ninth Division... must have a way, right? I'm the victim! You can't just leave me to die!" He struggled to sit up, aggravating his wounds, grimacing in pain, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He portrayed a perfectly panicked student who had just received devastating news.

Qin Bing's expression remained unyielding, as if Lin Xiao's performance was merely a data stream to be analyzed. She retracted the tablet, crossed her arms, and looked down at him from above, beginning the real "interrogation."

"Lin Xiao, we've retrieved surveillance fragments from the old factory and surrounding areas," her voice was not loud but carried an invisible pressure. "Although most critical areas were destroyed or interfered with, a few segments are quite interesting."

She paused, her gaze like an ice pick, piercing Lin Xiao:

"The time you entered the factory was less than five minutes after 'Viper' infiltrated. How did you precisely evade his initial search and appear in the core area?"

"The traps you detonated—the supports, the gas canisters, the I-beams... their positions were too 'coincidental,' and the method of destruction too 'precise.' A student being chased and fleeing in a panic, where did you get the time and ability to set these up?"

"And the timing of the last steel beam's collapse... it happened precisely at the moment Viper launched his fatal attack on you. A reaction time of 0.8 seconds, far exceeding the limits of a normal Martial Trainee, even approaching that of a specially trained martial artist. How did you do it?"

Qin Bing's questions were sharper and more deadly with each one, like a barrage of cannon fire aimed at Lin Xiao. Each question pointed directly to the core doubts in his actions that could not be explained by "coincidence" and "luck"! Her gaze was sharp as a knife, scrutinizing him with an intensity that could pierce any disguise, firmly locking onto any potential flaw on Lin Xiao's face!

The air in the room seemed to be sucked dry, leaving only the monotonous, oppressive hum from the ventilation grate. The pale light shone on Lin Xiao's ashen face, cold sweat silently sliding down his temples.

Playing dumb? In the face of Qin Bing's meticulous questioning and the mountain of evidence (surveillance fragments), it appeared so pale and powerless.

Lin Xiao's heart pounded wildly in his chest, the wounds on his back aching faintly from tension, and the numbness in his right leg seemed to mock his predicament. He opened his mouth, his throat too dry to make a sound. His brain, depleted by [-0.159] and under immense pressure from Qin Bing, spun frantically, searching for a sliver of hope.

"I..." he uttered a single word.

Suddenly!

Deep within his right leg, the dark green toxin temporarily "frozen" by the inhibitor sent a minuscule, yet incredibly clear... tremor!

It was as if the slumbering viper had been awakened by some kindred energy